New owner would be liable for tax owed

The county treasurer 'owns the first and best lien,' the treasurer says.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners were aware of the $417,328 in real estate taxes owed for Oakhill Renaissance Place when they voted 2-1 to take responsibility for a $450,000 Ohio Department of Development loan for the center, said Anthony Traficanti, board of commissioners chairman.
"That's old news," concurred Commissioner David N. Ludt. "We've been researching this for the last two years. We've done probably seven walk-throughs on that building," including examination of the roof and asbestos in the building, he said. "We've done our due diligence," he added.
The $417,328 consists of $43,382 in current taxes and $373,946 in back taxes, which have been accruing since 2001, said John B. Reardon, county treasurer.
If the property remains with its current owner -- Southside Community Development Corp. -- which filed for bankruptcy May 3, only the current taxes will be due Aug. 4, Reardon said in a Tuesday letter to county Auditor Michael V. Sciortino and commissioners.
Reardon added that the county has a tax lien on the property and any new owner would be responsible for the entire $417,328 on that date.
"By law, when there are delinquent taxes on any piece of real estate in the state of Ohio, the county treasurer owns the first and best lien against the property," Reardon said.
Bankruptcy Court
However, Reardon also said the U.S. Bankruptcy Court would be the final authority in the matter.
A bankruptcy judge might eliminate all of the real estate tax debt, Ludt said.
"If the county purchases the building, short of some sort of federal court intervention, the county will assume the delinquent tax bill," Reardon said.
Oakhill is the former Forum Health Southside Medical Center. SCDC's financial woes and cessation in March of Forum Health's subsidy of the building raised the prospect of tenants' having to leave the building on short notice.
SCDC "not only offered us the building, but they offered us $500,000, and we should have taken it at that time," Ludt said. "This would have been a debt-free building. We would have had a clear deed for that property," he said of the 2004 offer.
"It's well worth looking into," Ludt said. "That could be a one-stop shop for Mahoning County," government offices, he added. "I think it would be great for Mahoning County and the city," he observed.
Reardon said he has no authority to forgive the taxes owed, but, as with any taxpayer, an installment payment plan could be worked out over as long as five years.
The county treasurer's office did not take legal action to collect the back taxes while the state's ruling on SCDC's application for a real estate tax exemption was pending.
The nonprofit SCDC filed the application in 2004, but, citing several for-profit tenants at Oakhill, the Ohio Department of Taxation denied the exemption request April 7, 2006.
"The issue of the back taxes is another reason why we have to take this one step at a time and try to figure out what exactly this building and this property is going to potentially cost the county," said Commissioner John McNally IV, the sole dissenter on the loan vote.
Other concerns are about utility and moving costs and who will occupy the Oakhill building if the county acquires it, McNally added.
Among Oakhill's tenants are the Mahoning-Youngstown Community Action Partnership, Youngstown City Health Department and the Mahoning County coroner's office.